Summer Again

I remember everything about her.

I remember how she smelled, what she looked like, how her fur felt. I remember it all.

I remember when I met her, too.
She stopped me one morning when I was in the market and asked if I could use any help.

My hooves were really, really full,
but I didn't really want to put my burden on her shoulders.

Besides, she was a really pretty mare, and I kind of wanted to look tough and impress her.
And when I say pretty, I'm not exaggerating at all.

She had a lovely blonde mane that was kept in a braid beside her neck, and it made her gorgeous green eyes even more gorgeous.
A small horn poked out from her head of gold.
Her fur was salmon pink, and she had a yellow flower with little swirls around it on her flank.

I could go on talking about how amazing she was forever, but I've got more of a story to tell.

"No, thank you. I've got it," I had replied.
"Okay, if you insist," She said. Right then, I dropped all of my groceries right in front of her.

Then she laughed.
She laughed the most wonderful laugh I've ever heard in my entire life.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" She asked me, smiling sweetly.
I remember blushing.
"Okay... I guess I could use a hoof," I told her, and she helped me pick up my stuff.

That was the moment when I knew we were meant to be.

***
She told me her name was Summer Gold, and that she was a florist who had just moved to Ponyville from Canterlot.

She said she couldn't take the fancy, stuck up ponies anymore and she had to get away.

She didn't belong with stuck up ponies anyway. She belonged in a place with kind and honest ponies. Ponies with hearts.

Summer Gold had the biggest heart of all.
Eventually, after a long time of meeting up with each other, we became a couple.

We were in love. Madly, madly in love. Nothing could ever come between us.
So in love, I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

I had planned it all out, so it would be the best night ever.
My plans took a turn when she showed up at my house with some news of her own.

"I'm dying." Was all she said, at first. I didn't believe her, but she explained it all.

She was diagnosed with some kind of disease that I can't remember the name of.
That was the only thing I can't remember about her.
I didn't want to remember that detail.

"You'll be okay, right? Diseases like that can sometimes be stopped!" I said, taking her hoof and holding it in my own.

Looking back on it now, I realize that I said that more to reassure myself than her.

"No, actually... I'm sorry..." She burst into tears right then, and I held her close.
"They caught it too late, and... I... I probably only have at least six more months..." She sobbed.
My heart was broken and heavy, and I couldn't tell her it was going to be alright, because it wasn't.

With tears streaming down my face, I smiled.
"Well, Summer? This is going to be the best six months of your life."

***
Most ponies probably thought I was crazy, having done what I did.
Even with the knowledge that the love of my life was DYING right before my eyes, I still decided to go through with proposing.

If I had a brain, I probably wouldn't have done it. I would get way too attached and I wouldn't be able to cope with the pain.

Thing is, it wasn't about me, or how I felt. Summer Gold, my one true love, was going to die, and I wanted to be there for her through it all.

I wasn't about to give up on her because of my emotional stability.

I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

I digress now, though.

Two months later, I took her to the park where I had originally planned to propose to her.

We spread out a picnic blanket and had a nice dinner under the stars, lying under them after we finished our meal.
It didn't go as I hoped it would, but it was perfect.

I wasn't hard, actually. I thought I would be a nervous wreck, and I was, but it wasn't noticeable.
I almost mentioned it offhandedly, like it was nothing.
"Hey, so, will you marry me?" Was all it took. She turned her face to mine and I stared into her green eyes.
"But... I..."
"Listen, I don't care if you have cancer or if you're dying or if you're only gonna live for four more months. I am so in love with you, and I want to make sure that I spend the rest of my life...with you..."
Tears formed in her eyes, making them glisten in the moonlight. She smiled her beautiful smile.
"Okay. Let's get married."

***
The wedding wasn't extravagant like many other weddings might be, but it was perfect.

We were wed the next month, leaving her three more to go...

That's one of the details I preferred not to remember.

It stuck in my brain, though.
Like almost everything else.

Over the course of the months following the wedding, she only got worse.
It hurt my heart to see her so ill, because it was totally out of character.

I missed the Summer Gold that would smile at everyone and laugh a contagious laugh.
I missed the Summer Gold that would run and play and could move from the bed.
I missed the real Summer Gold.
And one day, it all came crashing down.

She was dying, and now there was no denying it.

She was rushed to the hospital and was checked on by doctors and nurses.

Of course, they only told me what I already knew.

I remember sitting next to her hospital bed, thinking about our lives together.
I remember the insane thought I had about having foals together.
But I knew that was impossible, what with the fact that my wife was dying right next to me.

I remember telling her everything I ever loved about her, and I remember retelling the story of how we met, even though she knew it.

She was there, obviously.

And then the beeps started slowing down.

"Oh, no no no. Please don't go just yet, Summer. Not yet," I begged her.
It didn't work. I didn't expect it to, either.
"Listen to me, okay?" She whispered. She hadn't said anything up until that point.
"I'm gonna go now, but I need you to know that I love you. I need you to be happy again, for me. Seeing you happy is all I've ever wanted. Promise me you'll find a way to be happy. Please," she said, tears streaming down her eyes.
"I promise, Summer. I'll be happy. Just... Probably not immediately." I gave her a weak smile.

It was the best I could do, honestly.

She laughed. It was a sad laugh, but hers all the same.

It wasn't contagious that time, though.
She was the only one who laughed, as I just smiled sadly at her.

After that, she never laughed again.

"I love you. Remember to be happy, no matter what it takes."

And then one, long beep.

Summer Gold was gone.
And so was a part of me.

***
The funeral was terribly sad, as one might expect it to be.

I told a condensed version of our love story, earning lots of tears.

Most of them were my own.

The memory of the day of the funeral is still fresh in my mind, though it happened an eternity ago.
I only remember it so well because that was the first day of the cold since summer ended...

Wow. That's quite a metaphor for my situation.

***
After that, it was cold for a long, long time.

It was one of the harshest
winters Ponyville has ever seen, so Winter Wrap-Up came late.

That type of thing isn't easy to clean up.

One day, though, when it finally started to warm up, I met somepony.

She was beautiful, sweet, and kind. She had a heart of gold.

Just like Summer.

And most of all, she laughed.
She laughed all the time, a laugh so pretty it could light up the whole town.

Everypony loved to hear her laugh.

Her laugh was contagious, and I loved it.
She reminded me so much of Summer Gold, and that made me happy.

And it all made sense.

Before she passed, she made me promise to be happy and move on.
Of course, I never imagined the day would come, and I hadn't meant to make an empty promise, but what are you supposed to say the the love of your life on her death bed?

And now, after meeting the lovely mare with the prettiest laugh, I was happy.
Finally, finally happy.

***
Though I never thought it would happen again, I fell in love.

She wanted me to be happy, and I finally did it.

I didn't think I could fulfill her dying wish, but somehow, I managed it.

I spent a lot of time with the mare with the pretty laugh.
We spent time together throughout the whole year and became very close.

Though a secret that I held close to my heart, I eventually shared the story.

The story of Summer Gold.

I even brought her to Summer's grave.
"I think you would have gotten along pretty well," I told the mare with the pretty laugh.
"I would have loved to meet her. I love, love, love meeting ponies! She sounds like she would have been my favorite!"
And she laughed. And I laughed, too.

I realized, in that moment, that this was it. I found my happiness in the mare with the pretty laugh.

And when I realized that I was truly, officially, happy, I felt at ease.

Warm, in my heart, despite the cold of October at that time.

It was one last touch of warmth from Summer.

And though there will never really be another Summer Gold, the mare with the pretty laugh came pretty close.

I found my Summer again.

END